HIROSHIMA: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio has treated his Group of Seven counterparts to lunch and dinner featuring local specialties of the western city of Hiroshima, his political hometown.

On Friday, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union had a working-lunch session at Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima, the venue of the ongoing G-7 summit chaired by Kishida.

French dishes using locally fished rockfish and local-brand chicken were served in the session. During break, participants were treated to “momiji manju” maple leaf-shaped bean paste buns, a major Hiroshima specialty.

The G-7 leaders moved to the Hiroshima Prefecture island known as Miyajima, home to Itsukushima Shrine on the UNESCO World Heritage list, for a working-dinner session.

During the session at the Iwaso traditional “ryokan” inn, dishes using oysters, wagyu beef and other local specialties were served, along with sake made in the prefecture and Iwate Prefecture, which was hit hard by the March 2011 temblor and tsunami.

Ahead of the session, the G-7 leaders visited Itsukushima Shrine and took group photographs with the “otorii” gateway to the Shinto shrine in the background.

JIJI Press